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Migration Museum of Dunedin: English

 

Bailey Family Bible

 

Date of Creation: c.1850

Materials: Leather-bound hard cover and thin Bible printing paper

Arrival in Dunedin: December 1863

Description: 310mm x 247.5mm x 90mm

Researcher: Angela Singh

History:

The Bible was brought to Canterbury in 1864 by Samuel (Sam) and Sarah Bailey when they migrated from Littledean, Gloucestershire, England, to New Zealand with their seven children. They traveled on the Brothers’ Pride out of London, utilising the New Zealand Company’s migration assistance scheme. In addition to bringing the family Bible with them, they also brought a copper kettle and Sam’s trade tools as he was a trained blacksmith.

The New Zealand Company encouraged migrants to settle in New Zealand by providing free or subsidised passage to skilled workers and their families. Sam and Sarah settled in Templeton, south of Christchurch, with their family and became livestock farmers. Their children, after leaving home, remained in the South Island, and brought up their families in the Canterbury and Southland areas.

Significance:

This version of the Bible is significant as the Revd John Brown published several simplified versions of the Bible specifically for his labourer-majority congregation and subsequently became popular in the wider labouring community in the United Kingdom.

Family Bibles are symbolically and practically significant. Symbolically, they were a way to hold families together while migrating. Practically, they were an accurate way to record births, deaths, and marriages, and to hold items of significance (for example, pressed flowers or bookmarks). Family Bibles are typically passed to the eldest son and are therefore a practical start for family history research. Sam was the eldest son in the Bailey family and when his father died in 1862 the Bible was passed to him.

 

Transistor Radio

Date of Creation: 1973

Materials: Plastic

Arrival in Dunedin: 1997

Description: 70mm [w] x 70mm [h] x 191mm [l]

Researcher: Amy Closs

History:

This National Panasonic R-82 AM Transistor Radio was purchased by Gerard Closs in 1973 when he was nine years old. He was travelling with his family on board the S.S. Australis ocean liner from Melbourne, Australia, to Southampton, England. The Closs family first migrated in 1970, from England to Australia, as Gerard’s father had got a job in Melbourne. In 1973, the family returned to England for medical reasons. They remained in England for two years, but the harsh winters and long commutes led his parents to question whether they had made the right decision. In 1975 Gerard’s parents moved back to Melbourne, where they have lived for nearly fifty years. In 1997, Gerard migrated again, to Dunedin, New Zealand, bringing the transistor radio with him.

Significance:

Transistor radios were a popular form of portable entertainment in the 1970s. On board the ship, the radio would begin to pick up music, languages and voices as they travelled into ports of call. As a young child, this experience opened Gerard’s eyes to new cultures from around the world. Gerard has held onto this object because it reminds him of the sense of excitement and adventure that he felt during this significant period in his childhood.

 

Ship’s Aneroid Barometer

 

Barometer FrontBarometer Back

 Date of Creation: 1860-1881

Creator: Pertuis Hulot Bourgeois Naudet

Materials: Brass, glass, blue iron

Arrival in Dunedin: Unknown

Description: 1650mm diameter with brass casing, cut-out face, top hanging ring, bevelled glass-front, blue iron indicator needle. Maker’s mark on back (PHBN)

Researcher: Lea Doughty

History:

Barometers were necessary for the safety of a ship and its passengers and crew. They were used to predict weather and sea conditions on voyages. Handmade in Paris, France, by Pertuis Hulot Bourgeois Naudet, this barometer was owned by Captain William Doughty, who arrived in New Zealand in 1850 from England.  In 1882, Captain Doughty was washed overboard on his way to Dunedin and drowned. The barometer has finally completed its voyage to Dunedin 133 years later, in the possession of Captain Doughty’s great-great-granddaughter.

Significance:

The barometer is significant as it represents how migrants travelled to New Zealand in the 19th and early 20th centuries.  Sailing ships from the United Kingdom typically took around 100 days to arrive in New Zealand.  Being able to predict the weather during the trip kept the ship and its passengers and crew safe.

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